The majority of the dogs at ARF come from shelters in rural central California. Most adapt quickly to life in their new suburban or urban Bay Area homes. Others may take a bit longer because of what we have been calling "rural dog syndrome." I'll explain using my foster pup Jethro as an example.
We came across little Jethro in a kennel on the adoption floor of Madera County Animal Services. He was the first pit bull we had seen in their new adoption building so we figured he must have caught staff's attention to be lucky enough to make it up there. Turns out he came in as a stray covered in hundreds of ticks. While the patient shelter staff carefully pulled off all of the vile bloodsuckers little Jethro fell asleep on the table. When I met him in his kennel he showed me what a softie he was when he climbed into my lap to give kisses. Needless to say, he won himself a space on the truck.
Fast forward to Jethro in foster in Oakland. Whatever socialization he received in the rural town of Madera during his first seven months did not adequately prepare him for the change of scene he now finds himself in. He's quite noise sensitive, leaping up from a deep sleep to run to a window at the sound of a shopping cart full of cans and bottles rolling by. Everyday things can send him skittering away. This morning on our walk a gull the size of an adolescent pterodactyl swooped low over our heads and Jethro hit the deck. Walking up the stairs and over the pedestrian walkway spanning the train tracks is a trial that I've never given a thought to before now with Wilma, my well socialized dog who grew up in Berkeley.
It's not that Jethro has "bad" or "negative" associations about all the new sights and sounds he's encountering, more likely he has no associations or experience of them, so has no ability to process all the new stuff in his world. Finding ways to make Jethro think that all this new stuff rocks is ultimately what will enable him to thrive in more urban surroundings.
My job now is to help Jethro go from "country mouse" to "city mouse"- he absolutely loves people and that, and having a relaxed and easygoing sister dog helps him realize that things aren't really as scary as he he once thought. With patience, treats, and lots of positive experiences with the things he's never seen before, Jethro will be a happy boy, comfortable living in the busy Bay Area.
Fast forward to Jethro in foster in Oakland. Whatever socialization he received in the rural town of Madera during his first seven months did not adequately prepare him for the change of scene he now finds himself in. He's quite noise sensitive, leaping up from a deep sleep to run to a window at the sound of a shopping cart full of cans and bottles rolling by. Everyday things can send him skittering away. This morning on our walk a gull the size of an adolescent pterodactyl swooped low over our heads and Jethro hit the deck. Walking up the stairs and over the pedestrian walkway spanning the train tracks is a trial that I've never given a thought to before now with Wilma, my well socialized dog who grew up in Berkeley.
It's not that Jethro has "bad" or "negative" associations about all the new sights and sounds he's encountering, more likely he has no associations or experience of them, so has no ability to process all the new stuff in his world. Finding ways to make Jethro think that all this new stuff rocks is ultimately what will enable him to thrive in more urban surroundings.
My job now is to help Jethro go from "country mouse" to "city mouse"- he absolutely loves people and that, and having a relaxed and easygoing sister dog helps him realize that things aren't really as scary as he he once thought. With patience, treats, and lots of positive experiences with the things he's never seen before, Jethro will be a happy boy, comfortable living in the busy Bay Area.
